Painting the Town

As a “sculpt,” actor Mark Palmer of Laguna Niguel is breathing a little easier these days.

Draped in resin garb the color of a penny and painted from head to toe, Palmer portrays a statue of Charlie Chaplin at the Pageant of the Masters, opening Friday in Laguna Beach.

Palmer holds his pose for a minute and a half before changing to another.

“We’re going to be mobile and animated sculpts,” said Palmer, 36. “We didn’t do that in the previous years. Traditionally, the sculpts don’t move. It’s a rare treat for me to be able to move. It takes some of the edge off having to be absolutely still.”

The moving sculptures are among several new features at the Pageant of the Masters, an Orange County institution that depicts works of art and sculpture using props and costumed models. With the Sawdust Festival and the Art-A-Fair already open, the production kicks Laguna Beach’s summer arts celebrations into high gear.

The theme this year is “California Dreamers: Artists, Explorers, Innovators and Visionaries.”

The Show Celebrates California’s History

From the argonauts of the Gold Rush to the Spanish missions to the pioneers of Hollywood and early art collectors, this year’s pageant of tableaux vivants--living pictures--taps California history for inspiration.

“We thought of the theme as a millennium show,” said director Diane Challis Davy.

The theme is in sync with other art venues in the region, Challis Davy said, adding that it also commemorates what she calls the pageant’s “60-year milestone as part of California’s history.”

The pageant also showcases California’s diverse ethnic heritage.

The Tushmal Singers, descendants of the Acjachemen tribe--the first people to live in the area that is now Laguna Beach--will open this year’s pageant singing sacred songs in their native tongue.

The live vocalists bring back an old pageant tradition.

“When I took over the position, I wanted to have more lively, less static entertainment,” Challis Davy said. “In the ‘60s, there were choirs. In the ‘80s, we had no live vocals. In the last five years, the show has become more of a variety show. It’s a return to the early days of the pageant.”

During her tenure, Challis Davy has stretched the scope of the pageant, exploring new themes and techniques. Recent productions have combined contemporary music, multimedia and high-tech special effects.

With the help of veteran technical director Richard Hill, the production features turntables, reflections of rippling water from an indoor pool and tableaux from film documentaries illuminated with a digital projector.

“There’s more scenery and lighting per square foot than we’ve ever done,” said Hill, who helped create the La Brea Gateway, featuring four silver female sculpts.

The result is a re-creation of some of the pageant’s signature works and never-before-seen tableaux.

Featuring more than 300 volunteer performers in 46 pieces of art, the production is divided into two acts.

‘We’re Trying to Top Each Year’s Performance’

Act 1 highlights artwork from California’s missions, a survey of the Gold Rush experience, the first showcase of a painting by California realist painter John Register and three Depression-era “Forgotten Man” paintings by Maynard Dixon.

Legends of Hollywood, including Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton and Mae West, are seen as sculptural tributes. The first act concludes with three of California’s well-known art collectors: William Randolph Hearst, Henry Huntington and Norton Simon.

The event is expected to have a quickened pace, Challis Davy said. Sophisticated new light and sound staging equipment emphasizes the sublime in signature tableaux in the second act.

Act 2 segues to Laguna Beach’s early years and the creation of the first pageants. Selections from earlier pageants include the Marine Corps War Memorial and Rome’s Trevi Fountain. True to tradition, the pageant’s finale features Leonardo da Vinci’s “The Last Supper.”

A reflection of the past and a preview of the future, “California Dreamers” retells California’s story as it’s never been told before.

“We’re trying to top each year’s performance and be more technically perfect as possible,” Challis Davy said. “But the main point is to be entertaining.”

BE THERE

The 2000 Pageant of the Masters runs from Friday through Aug. 31. Nightly at 8:30. Tickets are $10 to $50. A special gala benefit performance will be held Sept. 1. Benefit tickets are $50 to $300. For information: (800) 487-3378.